Tallahassee man arrested in false Publix bomb threats

A man wanted in connection with two separate bomb threats at Publix supermarkets in Tallahassee faces two counts of falsely reporting the explosive devices.

John T. Williams, 40, is being held at the Leon County Jail on a $20,000 bond. He was arrested on arson charges Wednesday after police said he lit the dumpster of a Tennessee Street restaurant on fire.

The bomb threats - at the Ocala Road Publix July 13 and the Monroe Street location Aug. 18 –were determined to be false. Investigators were able to develop information that helped identify Williams as a suspect in those incidents.

According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Williams was released from prison in May after serving more than 10 years for three counts of arson and four counts of falsely reporting fires in 1997. He entered into a plea bargain on two counts of making bomb threats in 2001 and was convicted of two counts of attempted arson in 2005.